Nice one Tom. You will see I posted on the `07 the other day which I found sweet!! You think the `08 is off-dry so this is exactly my question on the other thread Tim started today! I am not trying to be an a... but how sweet was your off-dry `08!!

A colder, harder, more austere style of Riesling from a very fine Südliche Weinstraße estate. I'm reminded a little of JosMeyers Le Kottabe bottling for its subtle aloe and petrol mineral component, but the Siegrist has a marginally more generous floral aroma. The fruit is all citrus. Lemon mostly, but also orange and the wine was a serendipitiously good match for the twice-a-year lemon-fried chicken that I made tonight. Desert dry, but not without charm and super affordable.

Bob Parsons Alberta. wrote:Nice one Tom. You will see I posted on the `07 the other day which I found sweet!! You think the `08 is off-dry so this is exactly my question on the other thread Tim started today! I am not trying to be an a... but how sweet was your off-dry `08!!

Hi Bob,

I would say it qualified as a riesling kabinett, in my book. Off-dry but not spatlese sweet to me. I really go for the acidity, balance and food friendliness of rieslings and this one had all of those qualities. Of course, riesling is my #1 white, always has been, probably always will be.

Palate. Lots going on here, off-dry, good hint of residual sugar but not sweet! Good acidity, ripe grapefruit, minerally, spice on a long clean finish. Very nice citrus tone too on the finish with hints of papaya and mango. Not over the top and went well with a couple of Asian take-outs.Think the Road 13 was a tad drier than this but this Wildass will do fine. Next up the new release from Cave Springs.

This bottle, purchased by the writer at release and well-cellared since, shows an alcohol level of 13% by volume on the label and is sealed with a screwcap. The wine holds an excellent mid straw/lemon colour, throws up unusual herb and green pineapple scents over musky lime and a little bottle-developed toasty character. I don't particular like these characters that appear all too often in Australian riesling, others may be more tolerable of their presence. The palate performs better with very clean herb, lime, apple and pear flavours housed within a well-constructed line through the mouth with spritely acidity adding spark to the relatively long and sustained departure with just a hint of toast and petrol lingering on the back end. If not for the indifferent bouquet, I might recommend this wine with some gusto. On tonight's form, 84 points - rated as good, verging on very good, but no better.

If I understand correctly this is a QmP wine though elsewhere it's be described as QbA. In any case it's rich, rich, rich. The sweetness is well balanced by acidity and the minerality is good, though maybe lacking in what would take this to greatness. That said it's a wonderful drinker and even not at sale price it's a great deal. It really grows over the course of an evening.

I've had mixed results with Heymann-Lowenstein (though poor provenance may have been part of the issue), so it's good to see your bottle showed well. I always hear great things about this producer, but have yet to be convinced (echoing my Keller and Van Volxem experiences).

There behind the glass lies a real blade of grass. Be careful as you pass. Move along. Move along.

I've had mixed results with Heymann-Lowenstein (though poor provenance may have been part of the issue), so it's good to see your bottle showed well. I always hear great things about this producer, but have yet to be convinced (echoing my Keller and Van Volxem experiences).

Ditto, though my limited experience of Keller is quite positive.

Additionally, on the basis of experience with three vintage of Schieferterrassen, I wonder if there is not a sweetwards drift at Heymann-Löwenstein. I remember 2001 as crisp and mineral, 2004 as much richer and less mineral and 2006 as rich and distinctly sweet. Although the estate's reputation was built on providing dry wines, I would describe the 2006 as medium dry/demi-sec/halbtrocken.

2007 Koehler-Ruprecht Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling Spätlese halbtrocken (Pfalz)Great stuff. Fresh citrus, guava and pear fruits over a stony mineral base and savoury grainy and leesy notes, showing a gentle creaminess in the mouth while staying very precise and clear with bright acidity. Much more enjoyable than my other bottle.

2009 Schloss Lieser Niederberg Helden Riesling Spätlese trocken (Mosel)Starts out smelling as if someone managed to liquefy a mountain of stone. With a little air this really opens out to show fresh pear and white fruited flavours, herbal accents and the slightly funky sponti yeasty notes the Lieser wines always seem to have young. There's a sense of restrained power and richness here, this comes across lighter on its feet than most GGs and is the first Mosel trocken I've seen that retains the classic Mosel sense of refreshment and lightness of touch on a dry frame. Stunning wine, and I would love to find more trockens like this.

2005 Van Volxem Riesling Alte Reben (Saar)Explosive; rich pear and peach fruit framed by herbal accents and the start of developing smoky/petrol elements. Tremendous richness and power here, with a nice acid spine beneath keeping it very fresh. A coiled fist of a Riesling.

2008 Peter Lauer Ayler Kupp Riesling Senior Faß 6 (Saar)Much more impressive than my last experience with this; bright citrus, apple and peach fruit infused with herbal and stony mineral flavours and an incredible sense of clarity and purity to the flavours. This is remarkably light on its feet with just enough richness and a faint hint of sweetness on the back end that keeps it from austerity, and instead makes it incredibly refreshing.

2006 Wittmann Westhofener Morstein Riesling Großes Gewächs (Rheinhessen)A wild ride of a GG; explosively tropical and exotic with ripe peach, melon, touches of pineapple and tarter citrus fruits seasoned with wild herbs. Underneath all the fruit is a backbone of pure stone; incredibly vivid, chiselled minerality that makes it feel more solid than liquid in the mouth, and fantastic acidity. Great Riesling!

Headed over on a typically stellar September afternoon in San Francisco to Dee Vine Wines and their new approach to hosting tastings that feel like cocktail parties with a convivial atmosphere, food pairings and, of course, wonderfully selected riesling. First up, the 2007 Solter Riesling Sekt from the Rheingau was a really beautiful wine—even more to my liking than the 2006 which had grown on me. A beautiful herbal and peach nose with ripeness goes down on the palate as delicate, beautifully crisp, yet rich in flavor. Pure fantastic finish. This is a really fun wine. After waiting in line a bit for some raw oysters and clams (delicious!), I headed over for a splash of the 2008 Fritz Haag Mosel Riesling from the Middle Mosel. The aromas are phenomenal and stony and it tastes cold, crisp, stony and precise. Very focused but with a bit of weight to balance the mineral focus. Superb match for the oysters. Stunning wine and great value. The 2008 Emrich-Schönleber Riesling Trocken from the Nahe had a spicy nose that suggested black fruit, but the wine itself was very inward, dark and hard to read. I would have thought it was shut down, but it seems a bit early for that. I didn't catch other opinions on that wine, but I found it very hard to read. The 2008 Gerhard Hattenheimer Schützenhaus Riesling Spätlese Trocken from the Rheingau had a nose of rich, really ripe fruit that was followed by mandarin juicy citrus in the mouth and a really cool layered approach to ripeness that still finished dry. An interesting wine. The 2008 Prinz Hallgartener Schönhell Riesling Kabinett Trocken, also from the Rheingau, offered a show-stopping nose of cardamom, indian spices and a feel of a multilayered cake. Oh yeah baby, bring it! Dry and tart lake water, reminded me of fishing for perch on the lake growing up. The wine screams seafood (or perhaps, for me, lakefood!). Fantastic grip (doubly so noted in my scribblings), acid backbone, playful. Fantastic! But just when you think things can't get better, head over to one of my favorite regions of Franken for the 2006 Hans Wirsching Iphöfer Julius-Echter-Berg Riesling Grosses Gewächs. Amazing depth on the nose, could sniff for hours. Textured fruit, the wine has presence. Pure and intense, paired amazingly with the wasabi on the oysters which suggests that though it is bone dry, it offers interesting qualities for pairing with spicy foods (and did awesomely with oysters). Incredibly pure—I adored it. Then onto the 2007 Knebel Winninger Röttgen Riesling Kabinett from the Middle Mosel which smelled rich and honey and tasted deep, delicious pear, quite juicy, deliciousness everyone will love.

Proceeding to the second table with spicy shrimp and three wines with a bit more weight and sweetness to balance that spice. The 2006 Maximin Grünhauser Abstberg Riesling Spätlese Superior #21 from the Ruwer offered a phenomenal nose and tasted strongly of tea leaves, barely-there stone, elegant, pinnacle of precipitousness, deliciousness and iced tea—yet more familiar than such a description of riesling would suggest. Interesting indeed. The 2008 Schmitges Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett Trocken from the Middle Mosel had a nice nose, but a bit harder to evaluate—still beautiful, though. Not my style for taste, though the weird layered tart and rich good fruit did have charms of its own, but not my thing. Wow, the 2007 Willi Schaefer Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese #14 (also from the Middle Mosel)—utterly drinkable deliciousness with layered stone and peach skin on the nose. Fun! Fantastic rieslings on a fantastic afternoon.

2006 Weingut Seebrich Niersteiner Hipping Riesling Auslese RheinhessenAP 4 382 261 17 07 (this last threw me--I thought it was supposed to be month and year for the last two sets of numbers but I haven't heard of the 17th month)

9% alcohol. More gold-tinted than I expected. A little lacking in acidity. Nectarine predominates on the palate. I like it, but one or two glasses at a time is sufficient--it could prove cloying in excess. A hint of citrus on the finish. I would consider purchasing again and have one bottle remaining. First tasted it at a Fayetteville Wine Society meeting with German and Austrian wines.

JC (NC) wrote:2006 Weingut Seebrich Niersteiner Hipping Riesling Auslese RheinhessenAP 4 382 261 17 07 (this last threw me--I thought it was supposed to be month and year for the last two sets of numbers but I haven't heard of the 17th month)

Nope. The last two digits are the year of tasting/year granted an AP number. The set of numbers preceding that are a unique identifier for each bottling--useful when there are numerous bottlings from a given producer and German labeling law makes unique identifiers difficult to place on the label.

2008 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Feinherb Not quite as impressive as the last bottle I had (which was truly outstanding Riesling), but still very enjoyable with fresh, pale green apple and pear flavours accented by gentle floral and mineral elements. The aromatics are stunning, but this doesn't have the same depth or sense of vibrancy on the palate that I remember - still, no complaints about getting a few of these at the Crush progressive at about $24.

Very pale yellow in color, nose shut down but some citrus grapefruit, apricot, no gasolein. Blah, one-dimensional thoughts as I sipped my first glass and no developement in the glass. Medium-bodied, fair acidity but no exotic fruits here forumites. Maybe past its best but `05 was a very good vintage. Guess Leon put the good juice in his high-end offerings. Very tame effort here.$22 Cdn, food was pork tenderloin with sauerkraut and boiled potatoes and carrots.

Perhaps, but do we sometimes expect too much from wines close to "entry level", especially with regards to their ability to age? If this were something like a Grand Cru Schlossberg I might expect more (despite the hopelessly flawed Alsatian designation system), but if I stack this up with things like yellow label (even the reserve version) Trimbach then I would generally consume most if not all of it in the first 5 or so years.

There behind the glass lies a real blade of grass. Be careful as you pass. Move along. Move along.

Well, I finally joined this forum. Some posters may possibly remember me from on of the other popular wine forums out there.

Anyway, I am a big fan of German Rieslings, but am always open to trying Rieslings from elsewhere - be it Austria, Alsace, the Finger Lakes, or anywhere else.

By some coincidence, I happened to have one of the best dry Rieslings that I have ever had tonight. I couldn't have picked a better wine for my initial post on this board.

2005 Emrich-Schönleber Riesling Grosses Gewächs HalenbergCertainly not the biggest Grosses Gewächs out there, but this may well have the most finesse of any first growth that I have had. The delicate, pure minerality is front and center in this medium to full-bodied, crisp, lightly creamy, and subtly beautiful example of Nahe Riesling. Bone dry, perfectly balanced, with excellent underlying acidity that makes you think that this came from a much cooler vintage than 2005. Not exactly lacking for perfume, either, with pears, nuts, oregano, and fresh flowers on the nose, with further notes of pineapples, roses, citrus fruits, tarragon, and bay leaves, and meaty/lavender notes on the finish. Really impressive length. Outstanding.

BTW, this Wine Focus gives me an excuse to open some of my more interesting bottles of Riesling, so I will definitely post more soon.